By way of Columbia College and the University of Michigan, composer and improvisational percussionist Adam Shead—along with co-headliners John Dikeman, Casper Townkeepers, and Tony Piazza—brings his innovative style of music to Arts + Literature Laboratory on February 24. Creating music that defies conventional categorization, Shead draws inspiration from all points of the musical universe—whether it be Ornette Coleman’s “harmolodic” style or the fierce strains of hardcore’s Bad Brains. This year, Dikeman, Townkeepers, Piazza, and Shead will spend time touring and playing music together. Shead himself has begun composing a drum orchestra and plans on releasing at least two new records (one with this touring ensemble) on his own label, Adiaphora Music. We talk with Shead about inspiration, improvisation, and his goals as a musician.
ALL Review: How did all of this begin?
ADAM SHEAD: I began drumming around the age of 12, when my musical interests were very much in the realm of hardcore punk and death metal. I started out performing in a punk band named Super Minotaur, which saw some acclaim in the Chicago DIY scene—we were accepted to perform at SXSW. Around the same time, I began playing with a guitarist named Tim McGinn, and he introduced me to free improvisation. We weren't educated in any improvisational tradition, but we were trying our hardest to make something that was our own. That was the inception of my affinity for creative/free improvisation.
ALL: Did you find yourself drawn to improvisational music early on?
AS: I did find myself interested in music that was nonconformist. The anti-establishment ethos of punk and metal was something I enjoyed greatly. When I left for university, Tim’s and my duo, Action Patterns, began performing less, and my access to creative improvisers dwindled but my interest never did. It was my undergraduate percussion instructor Jarrett Hicks who introduced me to the world of free jazz and supported my interest in the music, which is uncommon in academic formats.
ALL: Where do you find inspiration for your music?
AS: To be honest, I don't seek out inspiration. When I dig really deep for a concept, the results often seem lesser than the situations where inspiration finds me. I can't tell you how many times I’ve had an upcoming commission deadline or show where I wasn't prepared—and then maybe I hear a joke in a standup bit, or observe a pattern in a tree trunk or the warped wood of a barstool, and it inspires me conceptually to do what needs to be done. I believe my best work comes out this way.
ALL: What makes you feel like picking up your instrument(s)?
AS: People. For a long time I hated practicing, which is solitary in nature. When I began playing music in a punk band, [I’d watch] a bunch of people get in a room and improvise, hoping to create a song structure or hook. These days the real reason I practice is to continue to play and grow with my peers. It’s the drive for collaboration that keeps me practicing, knowing I owe this much to my peers and the audience. All too often I see performers who play the same thing over and over again, gig to gig. I hope to grow from performance to performance, otherwise I wouldn't ask an audience to see me more than once.
ALL: What are your goals when it comes to your work—where do you see yourself going from here?
AS: My goals regarding the music are quite simple: to make a connection with another human, and provide an authentic experience for a listener and myself. Ultimately I hope to provide music that is cleansing and/or thought-provoking for a listener who may need some sonic support—I have a deep interest in the pedagogy of creative improvisation and the extra-musical virtues creative improv can offer. At the end of the day, this is the music of my heart, and all I want is to continue to perform it with virtue.
Come see the show Saturday, February 24th, 2018 at 8pm.
Tickets $10 in advance at http://dikeman.bpt.me or $12 at the door.
Online sales end one hour before the performance. Doors open at 7:30pm.
